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Creative Heights

Photographer of the Week: JOSE ZANDER SERVANDO

By Macel Feliciano
Exhilarating landscapes, seascapes, and everything in between are what Zander Servando shoots for. Others may be satisfied with capturing views from the summit of a great mountain, but he aims for much more.

White Beach, Boracay Island (Zander Servando)

Capturing wedding from above (Zander Servando)

Beautiful Wedding (Zander Servando)

Turbine (Zander Servando)

Surfers Village, Gubat, Sorsogon (Zander Servando)

Sunset Appreciation, Canggu, Bali (Zander Servando)

Rib Vault (Zander Servando)

Rib Dome (Zander Servando)

Reach For It (Zander Servando)

Raffles (Zander Servando)

Prenup, Drone Capture (Zander Servando)

Dicasalarin Lighthouse (Zander Servando)

Ped Xing (Zander Servando)

Our Lady of Remedios Parish, Malate (Zander Servando)

Mongkok (Zander Servando)

Splash of Beauty (Zander Servando)

Refreshing (Zander Servando)

Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar (Zander Servando)

La Mesa Watershed (Zander Servando)

Keep it Dirty (Zander Servando)

Hang (Zander Servando)

Gramercy Trump (Zander Servando)

Gat Silo (Zander Servando)

Dicasalarin Cove (Zander Servando)

Dayang Mara (Zander Servando)

Loay, Bohol (Zander Servando)

Charlies Hangar Hostel, La Union (Zander Servando)

Cadapdapan Terraces (Zander Servando)

Buscalan Terraces (Zander Servando)

Bolabog Beach, Boracay (Zander Servando)

Air Cut (Zander Servando)

Aerials (Zander Servando)

Zander is a registered and licensed architect. But you’ll find this Sorsogon native more with adrenalin junkies than with his blueprints in the office. No surprise that he specializes in active lifestyle, sports, fashion, wedding, and landscape photography—with a loopy twist.

“I’m more into the active lifestyle and I like engaging with the beauty of our surroundings. I’m also into aerial photography. You can take photos of the same subject but with a different perspective,” he enthuses.

Giving viewers a new angle is his specialty. His images boast of stunning views from the top by mastering the budding genre of aerial photography. As a member of a small group of professionals certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to fly drones, he has devoted much of his efforts in supporting the “Know Before You Fly” campaign and advocating for responsible drone flying in the country.

Starting out as a kid with a disposable camera and film, Zander only took photography seriously later on. “I started taking photos with a digital camera in college. I then shifted to DSLR after I graduated and started shooting weddings in Manila.”

He began his career in photography by being a founding member of Bawal Mag-Shoot Dito (BMSD), where they lobbied for photographers’ rights to shoot in public places.

Photo contests hold little interest for Zander because of his tight schedule. But he has been acknowledged by photography insiders as one of the promising drone photgraphers in the Philippines. He has also been recognized as an influencer by several camera brands, who have tapped him to speak, conduct workshops, and judge competitions.

Asked about the guiding principles he abides by in all his years in the industry, he shares, “You need to love what you are doing. Be aware of what’s around you. Then engage yourself with your subjects.”

Amidst the validation from peers, he still aspires to better himself and aim for something grander. “My ultimate goal is to be recognized as one of the best hybrid photographers, one who shoots stills and videos, in the world, specifically in active lifestyle photography.”

For him, the best thing about being a photographer is the privilege of capturing people’s special life moments and sharing their experiences with others through his images.

Zander sees photography as a powerful tool that can shape history and change and shake the world to its core. To him, it all depends on how one takes advantage of it. “Photography can be good. Photography can be bad. It is all a matter of perspective.”